UK landlords have strict legal duties to keep your home in repair. This guide explains what they must fix, the timeframes involved, and what you can do if they refuse — including rent withholding, housing disrepair claims, and reporting to the council.
Living in a property with a broken boiler, damp, faulty electrics, or a leaking roof is not just inconvenient — your landlord has a legal obligation to fix these things. And if they refuse, you have real legal tools to enforce your rights.
This guide explains exactly what landlords must repair, within what timeframe, and what happens if they don't.
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is the primary source of landlord repair obligations. It applies automatically to any tenancy for less than seven years (which covers the vast majority of residential lettings).
Under section 11, your landlord must keep in repair and proper working order:
These obligations exist regardless of what your tenancy agreement says — they cannot be contracted out of.
Since 20 March 2020, all tenancies in England are also covered by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which implies a covenant that your home must be fit for human habitation at the start of and throughout the tenancy.
Under this Act, a home may be unfit if it suffers from:
The Homes Act gives you the right to take your landlord to court directly if the property is unfit — without needing to prove the landlord was negligent.
Damp and mould are among the most common housing disrepair issues. Since the high-profile death of Awaab Ishak in 2020, the law has tightened significantly.
Your landlord is generally not responsible for:
There is no one-size-fits-all statutory timeframe, but the legal standard is that repairs must be done within a reasonable time after your landlord has been notified — and that depends on the severity:
| Severity | Examples | Expected timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | No heating in winter, gas leak, structural collapse | 24 hours |
| Urgent | No hot water, broken boiler, major leak | A few days |
| Non-urgent | Cracked tile, faulty window lock, minor leak | Several weeks |
The key is that the clock starts when your landlord knows about the problem. Always report repairs in writing (email or text) so there is a record of when you notified them.
Your local council has powers under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to inspect private rented properties and serve improvement notices on landlords. This is free, and many landlords respond quickly when council officers get involved.
Find your council's private sector housing team and submit a formal complaint.
Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and section 11 of the LTA 1985, you can sue your landlord in court for:
Many solicitors take housing disrepair claims on no win, no fee terms. The Homes Act and s.11 both give you a direct cause of action.
Withholding rent is risky and not recommended without specialist legal advice. Simply stopping payment could result in rent arrears, which may be used as grounds for eviction. The preferred route is to pay into a separate account while pursuing legal remedies — but even this approach needs careful management.
For issues connected to leasehold or certain housing standards, the First-tier Tribunal can also issue orders. For short-term assured shorthold tenancies, the county court route is more typical.
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